Police: Body found in Brick, uncertain if storm-related

Nov. 1, 2012

US President Barack Obama (C) talks to Hurricane Sandy victims at a shelter in Brigantine, New Jersey, on October 31, 2012. Americans sifted through the wreckage of superstorm Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power. The storm carved a trail of devastation across New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states, swamping miles of coastline, and throwing the tied-up White House race into disarray just days before the vote. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SamadDOUG MILLS/AFP/Getty Images / AFP/Getty Images

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Staff and wire reports

10:45 p.m. Lacey updates from OEM and the Township

• Lacey schools will be closed until Monday, according to the township.

• The township is restricting access to residents only in the waterfront areas. The driving ban is still in effect. East Lacey Road is open to residents only in that neighborhood.

• For those that have leaves, debris, branches, trees in their yard, as of Monday, Nov. 5, the garbage company will be picking up the debris at curbside on your regular recycling day. The debris must be cut into 4 foot lengths and bundled, weighing no more than 75 pounds. The township cannot take whole trees in the garbage trucks.

• The recycling center is open. The township cannot come onto private property and remove trees or debris. The special debris pick up will be until Nov. 16. After that date, residents will have to make their own arrangements.

• House cleanups: For those residents who have lost contents in their home, east of Route 9 only, as of Nov. 5, the garbage company will pick up such items on your regular garbage day. The items should be packaged in accordance with the normal garbage collection regulations. This will last through Nov. 16. After that date, the property owner will need to make their own arrangements.

• As to spoiled food waste for all homes in Lacey, food waste can go out with normal garbage pickup.

• Construction debris cannot go out with garbage pickup. It will not be picked up. Residents will need to make arrangements for dumpsters or to transport it to the county landfill.

6:30 p.m. Police: Body found in Brick, uncertain if storm-related

Authorities found a man dead in his home in the Shore Acres section of the township late Tuesday evening, police said.

Police haven’t released details of the adult man’s death or his identity and can’t say at this point if the death was storm-related or due to a medical issue, Sgt. Keith Reinhard said.

Reinhard wouldn’t say where in the house, which is at the end of Drum Point Road, the man was found, but did say the house had some flooding.

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Police are still investigating, he said.

“Obviously, it was very unfortunate that it happened,” Reinhard said.

Authorities have been busy in the days after Hurricane Sandy ripped through the region.

Today, authorities rescued roughly 80 people who were still on the Brick section on the barrier island, Reinhard said. Authorities haven’t previously been able to access the island and crossed into the area today by walking across the Mantoloking Bridge, which he noted is not structurally sound, he said.

Many people had already evacuated the island, Reinhard said. There were only 25 homes that police knew of that had people remaining on the island during the storm, he said.

The people were taken to a temporary shelter at Veterans Memorial Middle School in Brick Township and will likely be transferred to a state shelter in Burlington County.

Entry to the island is now being barred because of gas fires still burning, Reinhard said.

“The Barnegat (Peninsula) is pretty much shut down,” Reinhard said.

Between the storm surge and fires that erupted, the township lost the 50 to 60 homes in the Camp Osborne section of the township on the island, Reinhard said. The homes are of various size across three streets off Route 35.

“The storm surge, we believe, knocked these homes off their foundation,” he said.

Gas pipes burst in some homes burst, and they believe that’s what caused the fire, Reinhard said. Police believe only about 10 of the homes were on fire and the others were “wiped out” by the surge, he said.

Borough officials hope once the fires are under control, they can send engineers to assess the safety of the area and reopen access, Reinhard said.

5:40 p.m. Obama promises a speedy federal reaction

At the conclusion of his helicopter tour with Gov. Chris Christie, President Barack Obama touched down in Brigantine for a close-up look at damage and to talk with residents who rode out the storm at home.

Obama promised a speedy federal reaction and "a 15-minute rule:" any calls from state or local officials get returned in 15 minutes.

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Military units will help deliver critical equipment and replacement parts, using Air Force C-17 and C-130 transports and Navy helicopters as needed, Obama said.

In recent years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been pre-positioning generators, equipment and supplies at regional depots — there is one at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — and those staging areas are helping speed responses from New Jersey to West Virginia, Obama said.

5:30 p.m. Registered voters in southern Ocean County can now obtain vote-by-mail ballots

Ocean County Clerk Scott M. Colabella announced today that southern Ocean County residents can obtain vote-by-mail ballots at the county Southern Service Center at 179 South Main St. in Stafford.

On Thursday and Friday, voters can obtain a ballot from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the center. In addition, the clerk’s office will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Monday 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. For additional information, voters should contact the clerk’s office at 609-597-1500.

Registered voters in the six communities on Long Beach Island — Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Beach Haven, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City — as well as the municipalities of Barnegat, Eagleswood, Lacey, Little Egg Harbor, Ocean, Stafford and Tuckerton are urged to visit the Southern Service Center to apply for and obtain a ballot.

Since the storm hit, Ocean County voters have been able to obtain ballots at the County Clerk’s temporary location in the County Administration Building on 101 Hooper Ave., Room 116 in Toms River. The Clerk’s Office temporarily relocated to the Administration Building after losing power at the Court House on Monday.

4 p.m. Obama, Christie view Ocean County devastation

Nighthawk Two, which is Marine One when the president rides on it, took President Obama and Gov. Christie for an aerial tour of southern New Jersey. After eight minutes in the air, the Atlantic City skyline appeared, with the casinos rising along the Shore. The Atlantic City boardwalk seemed in tact near the main drag by the casinos. North of Atlantic City things were worse.

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Further north, the aerial view showed more sand was blown inland onto city streets, as well as a handful of Caterpillar-style tractors appearing to be clearing areas.

After about eight minutes of flying over marshland, Nighthawk Two reached Beach Haven on Long Beach Island. Streets look muddy and sandy from ocean to bay. Standing water is everywhere. Some whole streets are under water. There are boarded up and blown out windows. Every so often there will be a car driving on the one main north-south road, which appears to be clear of sand.

At Ship Bottom, things looked better. Roads only have sand on them within two blocks of the ocean. Streets are under water at the bay front.

At Harvey Cedars damaged was less. Again there is sand on some roads but less than in Beach Haven. The beach front homes seem to have survived the storm.

In Seaside Heights, roads were either covered in sand or water. There were piers that look like the storm took giant bites out of the ends of them. Houses are flattened — not whole neighborhoods but scattered here and there. Wood fragments everywhere. The boardwalk gone except for lonely posts here and there. The whole town looks like a beach with houses sprouting out from the middle of their first levels.

They saw a fire, too, which appears to have taken out about eight homes to the ground. A bridge to the mainland is knocked down at one end, with cars still on it.

The next town they toured was Point Pleasant Beach. Sand and water everywhere. It is about four blocks inland before you can see concrete on the roads.

Someone has written "ROMNEY" in large letters in the sand at the north end of Point Pleasant Beach.

Flying back south on the bay side of Long Beach Island. The water level is high, lapping at the bottom of homes. On the mainland, bay shore has homes and parts of homes turned into wood piles. LBI’s bay shore seemed to be in better shape.

There's a two-span bridge to Long Beach Island that looks to be in tact, though on the island side there looked to be mud on the road.

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Heading south, more water on mainland roadways near the bay. Entire sections of several hundred yards each of the north-south road closest to the bay are underwater but there are vehicles traversing it.

President Obama and Gov. Christie arrived at the community center a short while ago.

"I want to let you know that your governor is working overtime" to repair damages in the state, Obama said to the crowd gathered. "The entire country has been watching what's been happening. Everybody knows how hard Jersey has been hit."

The President said the "top priority" is to get power restored.

"The country comes to help because you never know when someone is going to get hit by a disaster," he said.

Christie: "He's been working with me with (FEMA) Director Fugate. It's really important to have the president of the United States here."

Christie is wearing the zip-up blue fleece he's had on in various TV appearances this week. It reads "CHRIS CHRISTIE GOVERNOR" in white letters above his heart.

On the way here from the Atlantic City airport, the motorcade went through Atlantic City proper but did not stop.

3:05 p.m. Sandy Hook's hurricane damage 'horrible'

A parks official in charge of Sandy Hook today called Sandy’s devastation to the national park “horrible.”

Peter McCarthy, unit coordinator for Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook unit, said the oceanfront park at the northernmost tip of the Jersey Shore sustained devastating damage to its dunes and severe flooding to its roads and concession centers.

“The damage is devastating at this point,” McCarthy said. “The dunes have been wiped out from the south entrance to Gunnison Beach.

“There is severe flooding on the east roadways,” he said. “Sand drifts can go anywhere from four to five feet at the main entrance. ...All of our beach parking lots have sand in them, between two and three feet.”

McCarthy said Sandy caused a lot of beach erosion and caused severe water damage to the park’s beach centers, which house restrooms and concession stands. There is water in the basements of all of the park’s 175 buildings, he said.

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“At one point, the ocean and bay met each other in several places,” he said.

“We have a lot of work in front of us, and we're in bad shape,” McCarthy said. “If you're asking for a comparison between this and Irene, there is no comparison. This is just horrible. There's nothing that even comes close to this, and that includes blizzards and a few other things.”

2:25 p.m. IRS grants payment delay until Nov.7

The Internal Revenue Service announced it is granting taxpayers and tax preparers affected by Hurricane Sandy until Nov. 7 to file returns and accompanying payments normally due today.

The relief applies to taxpayers and tax preparers in an area affected or otherwise impacted by the storm.

This relief primarily applies to businesses whose payroll and excise tax returns and payments are normally due today. No action is required by the taxpayer; this relief is automatic. Regular federal tax deposits are due according to current rules. However, the IRS stated if taxpayers or tax practitioners receive a penalty notice for this period, they can contact the IRS at the number on the notice to request penalty abatement due to reasonable cause on account of the storm.

IRS expects to grant additional filing and payment relief as qualifying disaster declarations are issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Details will be posted on the Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page on IRS.gov.

2 p.m. Obama and Christie take an aerial tour of some areas most affected by Sandy

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the White House reached out to Gov. Chris Christie’s office to make the trip happen.

"This is a time to focus on what was a devastating storm and the terrible aftermath of that storm. New Jersey was by many measures the hardest hit state, I believe that's correct. It is entirely appropriate for the president to visit New Jersey and receive updates on the efforts there to recover and to view first hand the damage inflicted by Sandy. This is not a time for politics," said Carney, who would not address how the New Jersey visit might send a political message.

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1:40 p.m. Oyster Creek ends alert status

The formal “alert’’ status at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey was terminated at 3:52 a.m. today after the water levels at the plant’s intake system decreased to normal levels, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed.

Offsite power also has been restored to the nuclear power facility, which had lost electrical service due to Hurricane Sandy and was using backup generators to power water pumps that cool the fuel stored in the nuclear reactor.

Water levels at the plant’s intake system are now at about 3 feet and declining, below the six-foot level that triggers a formal alert notification. The rising levels were the result of high tides, wind direction and storm surge that were caused by the storm. The notification of an “alert’’ is the second lowest NRC action level.

The NRC in a statement noted Oyster Creek was in “safe condition,’’ with agency inspectors on site.

Formal notifications of the alert were properly made, as required by the Exelon Corp, owners of the plant, to the NRC, state Department of Environmental Protection and state Office of Emergency Management.

The Oyster Creek reactor had been off-line prior to Sandy for previously scheduled refueling and maintenance operations. The DEP and NRC continue to observe operations at Oyster Creek and the state’s other nuclear facilities.

DEP nuclear engineers monitor daily operations at the state’s power plants on a regular basis and will continue to monitor their status throughout the aftermath of the storm.

1:10 p.m. President Obama inspects hurricane damage

President Barack Obama disembarked from Marine One at 12:25 p.m. wearing khaki pants, a blue windbreaker and brown hiking boots. He was joined by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

They left for a 45-minute flight to Atlantic City at 12:29 pm. Obama will join Gov. Chris Christie to inspect damage from Hurricane Sandy.

12 p.m. Halloween postponed

A passenger vehicle collided with an armored van at an intersection with a disabled traffic light in Plumsted this morning, injuring three people, two seriously.

The accident occurred shortly after 8:15 a.m. at routes 537 and 539, said Plumsted Emergency Management Services Chief Dave Rogers. The armored van overturned in the collision, he said.

“That’s ordinarily a controlled intersection,” Rogers said. “Today it’s not” because of Sandy’s aftermath. Firefighters from the New Egypt Fire Company cut two people from the wreckage, one in each vehicle, he said. The armored van carried two people; the passenger vehicle, one person, he said. Medics from New Egypt rushed all three people to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton. No other details were available. The investigation is underway. Ocean County engineers are at the site to see how they can make the intersection safer, Rogers said.

10:45 a.m. About 90 percent of Long Branch boardwalk is gone

Long Branch remains without power and officials have been told it will likely be seven to 10 days before electricity is restored.

Stan Dziuba, the city’s emergency management coordinator, said about 85 to 90 percent of the boardwalk was lost.

The west side of Pier Village was not hit too badly – some debris washed up there, he said. But the east side has sustained some structural damage.

No buildings were lost.

Road crews are out, trying to clear trees from streets in areas where wires are not down. Officials are also working to try to get some of the businesses re-opened, so residents can get supplies, Dziuba said.

Engineers are now out, trying to assess damage on beachfront.

There are no reports of injuries.

10:15 a.m. Emergency crews try to reach barrier island on foot

Emergency crews have walked across the Mantoloking Bridge to the barrier island, where a fire is burning, police said.

More crews are making their way to the area in emergency vehicles, from the south, via Route 37 in Toms River, police said.

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Brick Sgt. Keith Reinhard police received some reports late Monday about a fire on the island, but it was inaccessible as the hurricane hit the area. Then, Tuesday, aerial video footage taken by the National Guard showed Camp Osborne severely burned, he said.

Now, this morning, police received more reports of a fire, he said.

On the video footage, it appeared as if gas lines were fueling the fire, where homes had been ripped from their foundations, police said. Gas was still on in that area.

Reinhard said the Mantoloking Bridge has been deemed unsafe for vehicular traffic. And there is also so much debris on the east side of the bridge, that heavy equipment, such as a front end loader, would be required to move it to make the road passable.

9:34 a.m. Oyster Creek generating station is no longer on alert

The water level that led to the cautionary measure has dropped and the plant has returned to regular grid power, a plant spokeswoman said. The alert was lifted shortly before 4 a.m. today. High water levels at the facility, which sits along Barnegat Bay, prompted safety officials to declare an “unusual event” around 7 p.m. Monday, shortly before Sandy made landfall. About two hours later, the situation was upgraded to an “alert,” the second-lowest in a four-tiered warning system. A rising tide, the direction of the wind and the storm's surge combined to raise water levels in the plant's intake structure, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees plant safety.

The oldest U.S. nuclear power plant was already out of service for scheduled refueling.

Despite the alert, conditions were still safe at Oyster Creek, according to the NRC.

The agency said the plant, which went online in 1969 and is set to close in 2019, is watertight and capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds.

The plant's owner, Exelon Corp., said power was also disrupted in the station's switchyard, but backup diesel generators kicked in.

9:08 a.m. Aerial assessments planned today

The Army Corps of Engineers will have be flying over the area today to inspect the damage from Hurricane Sandy.

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“We have people up in the air today flying over the entire New Jersey coast,” said Stephen Rochette, spokesman for the Corps. “We're also sending teams out to every project site to inspect damages.”

Before the storm, the Corps conducted inspections, Rochette said.

8:29 a.m. State DEP urges water conservation

The state Department of Environmental Protection is urging residents to conserve water to take the strain off public and private water utilities. The utilities are using emergency generators to treat and pump water.

“Power companies are working hard to restore electricity to water utilities, but right now it’s impossible to say how long these facilities will have to be operated on backup generators,” Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin said in a prepared statement. “Everyone must pitch in immediately and take steps to reduce water consumption.”

Most of the major water utilities in New Jersey are using backup generators to some degree, according to the DEP.

New Jersey American Water Co., the state’s largest private water company, is urging all of its customers statewide to conserve water indefinitely because it is using emergency generators.

• Do not use water for any nonessential uses, such as watering of lawns and washing of cars.

• Take showers instead of baths. Keep showers as short as possible.

• Limit flushing of toilets, dishwashing and washing clothes.

• Turn off the faucet when shaving and brushing teeth.

• For those who have electrical service, run dishwashers and laundry washing machines only when they are full. If you have a water-saver cycle, use it.

• Check your toilet, faucets, and pipes for leaks and make repairs or shut off water valves to any faucets or toilets that are leaking.

• Use a broom or rake to clean up storm debris, including leaves or pine needles, rather than a hose.

7:39 a.m. Weather to remain mild, stable

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly is calling for mostly cloudy skies with temperatures reaching the mid 50s today. The outlook for the next three days is partly cloudy with stable temperatures. They are expected to dip to the mid 40s at night and reach the mid 50s during the day. The forecast for Sunday is sunny. The weather is forecast to stay seasonably mild through Tuesday.

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7:30 a.m. The driving on Route 36 in Middletown this morning

Route 36 has been cleared of debris, but most intersections in Middletowm are still blocked. Wawa on Route 36 in Leonardo section of Middletown has gasoline and about 50 cars have already lined up to fill up. The mail carriers and crew at the US Postal Service in Belford are now arriving for work.

7:10 a.m. A fire on the barrier island in Ocean County

Brick police said emergency crews are attending a briefing now and preparing to try to get out to the barrier island. They believe the fire is somewhere in Brick, but emergency workers have not been able to get to the area since the hurricane hit.

The Mantoloking Bridge is inaccessible, so crews may try to get to the area from Route 37, then go up through Lavalette, police said.

7:05 a.m. Power restored in much of Little Egg Harbor

Power has been restored to most of Little Egg Harbor, police said, but they are urging drivers to be careful of down power lines and trees. Gas is currently available at the WaWa on Route 539.